Santa Cruz singer giving away his new album

Almost a decade ago, the Santa Cruz singer/songwriter got in on the ground floor of producing the hugely popular musical video tool "Guitar Hero" and now works for the Walt Disney Co. as its audio director for mobile devices. He is married to Kendra Baker, one of the stars of the Santa Cruz culinary scene with her Penny Ice Creamery, the Picnic Basket and her just-about-to-open new downtown restaurant Assembly. He's also got a young son he adores, and three albums of seductively sunny songs to his name.

But he's also aware that he's part of a generation of musical artists having to face an industry that has been turned inside out by technology. In order to draw attention to artists increasingly marginalized by the age of iTunes and Spotify, he's making a symbolic gesture: He's giving his music away.

Anyone who wants to listen to Gallant's latest album, "Wanderlust," can swing by any of a number of Santa Cruz businesses, including the Penny Ice Creamery, Bookshop Santa Cruz and Verve Coffee. You'll get a download card good for the album. And it will cost nothing.

"I don't build houses and I don't teach children how to read," said Gallant. "This is my way of sharing my gifts, my contribution to the community. And it's free, no strings attached."

It is, he admitted, a counterintuitive move. He wants to remind music fans used to getting a lot of what they love for free that there's an artist on the other end of the transaction that needs to be compensated for his/her work. But he wants to do this by giving his music away.

"It's wonderful for the consumer," said Gallant of the Internet-driven business model in the music world that has displaced the old model. "But the bottom line is that most of our culture is out of touch with the fact that we're getting music for free that we used to have to pay for."

The result is a hollowing out of the music industry's middle class, mid-level artists who used to be able to make a living recording and performing. Now, even big stars, he said, can't make money only recording.

As a vivid example, he points to the Beatles, the most successful pop-music group of all time. "The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and for the rest of their time together, they were purely recording artists, making some of the greatest records ever. But these days, they simply could not afford to do what they did back then."

Giving away "Wanderlust" is, he said, a gesture to fans "to take a moment to think about supporting artists. I'm hoping someone might take my album and then think about supporting other artists by buying their music."

As part of his day job, Gallant composes and records a wide variety of music to use on games designed for the iPad and other tablets. But his own music is simpler and more reflective of his inspirations and influences.

"I like the chord-driven songs," he said. "I gravitate toward the strummers, the singers."

Gallant's sound has often been compared to Jack Johnson, another surfer who uses music to express satisfaction and gratitude to living full of free time, friends and family. That ethic is beautifully expressed in the video for the title track of the new album.

"I'm a happy man," he said, "and there's a lot of happiness in my music. Where you are psychologically has a lot to do with what your music sounds like."